Wednesday, 22 March 2017

Happy Spring Break!

Just a reminder that student involved conferences are tonight and tomorrow. If you haven't done so already, please book a time!

Spring break starts tomorrow for students. There is no school Thursday or Friday. Classes resume on Monday April 3.

Please make sure that you return your field trip forms! We go on our trip to Aggie Days the week we get back from Spring Break. If no forms are returned, students will have to stay at the school for the day.


Monday, 20 March 2017

International Day of Happiness

This morning we started off by continuing our weaving. Lots of us are getting better and better at creating designs and adding more colors to our artwork. Mrs. Stables taught us how to add beadwork and tuffs of yarn to our designs. We are aiming to finish our weaving by tomorrow but it is taking a very long time so we may need to work on it after spring break too.

Today is the International Day of Happiness. To celebrate we listened to the song "Happy" by Pharrell and then created a calendar for April where for each day, we listed activities we could do that would bring us happiness. Ms. Binks also gave us a special task. We were each given 3 compliment cards and are supposed to give them out to people by the end of today. We are hoping that by doing so, we can spread some kindness and happiness throughout our community.

In science today we continued to test the strength of pillars. Today we started to test how many blocks our 4 pillars could hold but soon ran out of blocks! One group had pillars that held over 1200 blocks! We will continue testing tomorrow.

Exciting news....we have enough volunteers to go to Aggie Days!! Permission forms were sent home today with students. They are due back by April 3. For parents who expressed an interest in volunteering, your child should be bringing home the volunteer consent form today with their form. Please fill it out and return it with your child's paperwork. Our field trip is the first week we come back from Spring Break so please make sure that you fill out and return the forms asap.

Reminders:
- Student led conferences are Wednesday and Thursday
- No school for students on Thursday and Friday of this week. Spring break is all next week
-Field trip forms sent home

Wednesday, 15 March 2017

Art Residency

Today we continued the Amazing Race. Some of us were very excited to discover plane tickets awaiting us in our backpacks. We earned these tickets by correctly identifying the continent Peru is on, the ocean the borders Peru and the 5 countries that border Peru. Some of us missed our flights which meant we needed to do an additional mapping task before we earned our plane tickets. Today Ms. Binks taught us about 9 symbols that represent Peru as well as all about the flag of Peru. After we learned this information, we had our first roadblock. In our team we could choose one of two roadblocks to complete. We will continue to work on the roadblock assignment tomorrow and then find out which teams will move ahead successfully!

Today was our first day with our artist in residence, Mrs. Stables. We learned about how in Peru the Inca people do special weaving using the wool from llamas. We watched this video: Threads of Peru
Then we made our own looms out of cardboard. We had to measure using a ruler to make sure our string would be even on our looms. Once we were finished our loom, we made beads out of clay. We were able to make different shapes and designs in our beads. We will be incorporating our beads into our weaving. Tomorrow we will begin to weave designs on our loom!

Reminders:
- Jump rope for heart envelopes are due Friday
- Early dismissal Friday
- Pillars of Care awards assembly is Friday at 8:15

Tuesday, 14 March 2017

Amazing Race

This morning we started the Amazing Race! Our first task was to earn plane tickets to fly from Calgary to Lima, Peru. In order to earn these tickets, we had to work with our team and use an atlas or world map to identify:
a) What continent Peru is on
b) What ocean borders Peru
c) What countries border Peru
We only had 15 minutes to complete this task! Lots of us were very excited! We made backpack folders that we will keep our assignments and tickets in for our travels. Keep checking back to see how we move along in the race!

In math we continued to work on multi-digit by single digit multiplication. We will be having a test later in the week on these skills so please make sure you are practicing!

In science this afternoon, we got a new client to help out. They are building a playground. In the center of the playground will be a climber shaped like a rainbow. Our client wants to know if how wide the base of the rainbow (arch) is will matter or change how much weight it can hold. Today we tested an arch with a base that was 20cm wide. Tomorrow we will test 30cm wide and then make a decision to tell our client.

If you have not already done so, please return the orange volunteer forms for Aggie Days by tomorrow! We are hopeful that we will receive enough volunteers among the 3 classes to be able to go.

Reminders:
- Pillars of Care assembly is on Friday
- Early dismissal on Friday
- Jump rope for heart envelopes due Friday

Monday, 13 March 2017

Spelling Test tomorrow!

This morning we all discovered how terrible daylight savings is! There were lots of tired people (including Ms. Binks) who arrived into the classroom today. Please make sure that you are still going to bed at a good time so you get lots of sleep and are ready for learning! This week will be tough with  adjusting to the new times.

This morning in math we learned a new strategy we named LRA. This stands for Left to Right then Add. We can use it for multiplying 2/3 digit numbers by 1 digit numbers. Here are the steps:
1) Stack your numbers
2) Write out a place value chart so you remember how much each digit is worth
3) Multiply the digit on the far left by the digit on the bottom and write down your answer
4) Multiply the next digit to the right by the digit on the bottom and write down your answer
5) Continue to multiply the digits to the right by the digit on the bottom and write down your answer until you no longer have numbers to work with
6) Add up all of your answers

We used these helpful tips when writing out the answers. If you are multiplying a number in the:
- 100s place - write your answer then put 2 zeros behind it
- 10s place -write your answer then put 1 zero behind it
- 1s place - write your answer

If we were to solve the question 371 x 4 using LRA we would:
1) Stack the numbers 371
                                  x   4

2) Write out a place value chart (3 is worth 300, 7 is worth 70 and 1 is worth 1. The 4 is worth 4)
3) Multiply the digit on the far left by the digit on the bottom (300 x 4 = 1200)
4) Multiply the digit to the right by the digit on the bottom (70 x 4 = 280)
5) Continue until you run out of numbers (1 x 4 = 4)
6) Add up the answers (1200 + 280 + 4 = 1484)

We are going be starting to learn about a new country in social studies called Peru. To help with our learning, we are going to be competing in the Amazing Race room 9 edition. We are going to be split into teams of 2 or 3. The goal of our team is to cross a finish line first. To move ahead in the race we are going to have to complete special tasks to earn tickets to travel or demolish roadblocks. We can also earn special items called fast forwards and u-turns that can either move us ahead or stop another team from moving forward. The roadblocks and tickets to travel will be related to specific topics we learn about Peru. The fast forward and u-turns can be earned in any class throughout the day including music and phys ed. The first part of the race begins tomorrow!!

In science we finished testing our paper beams for our client. We discovered that a box girder beam is the strongest and would be the most cost effective. Tomorrow we will get a new client!

Today was the first day of class dojo. Lots of us earned points for demonstrating responsible and respectful behaviour. Remember to login and create an account. In doing so, you can customize your character and check in on your point progress for the week.

Reminders:
- Spelling test is tomorrow! Make sure you practice your words!
- Please make sure you return your orange volunteer form by Wednesday. We are still looking for volunteers!
- Early dismissal on Friday
- Pillars of Care Assembly on Friday

Friday, 10 March 2017

Mmmm curry!!

This morning in math we continued to work on multi-digit numbers multiplying single digit numbers. We watched this video as we worked through some problems: Math Antics
Lots of students are still having difficulties solving problems that require carrying over. Please try working through these problems at home:
a) 784 x 2
b) 344 x 5
c) 2741 x 3

Today we were able to taste some butter chicken curry(without the chicken). We needed to describe what it looked like, smelled like and tasted like. Here were some of our descriptions:
Looks: orangish red, chunky, delicious, like salsa, red/brown/orange
Smells: spicy, like butter, like cinnamon, sweet
Tastes: mouth-watering, spicy, sweet, really good, like noodles, kind of like chicken

After eating the curry our verdict was it was delicious! Lots of students said they will be asking for curry for supper this weekend! We talked about how tasting food is a great way to learn about a different culture and how important it is to try something before you say you don't like it. Ms. Binks is thinking about other taste tests we can do of food from Peru, Ukraine and Tunisia.

In science this afternoon, 23 You and Me continued some testing for our client to see what type of beam they should use when building a foot bridge. This afternoon we built a rectangular beam out of paper. We discovered that this type of beam was not as strong as the zigzag beam. During testing for both of these beams we found that there were some big discrepancies between the results of some groups. We talked about why different groups would get different results. Some of our ideas were: their books were too close together, they didn't use enough tape, their container was facing a different way, they didn't stop when they needed to. On Monday, we will test our last beam before giving the client our suggestions.

This afternoon Ms. Binks started something new to help with positive behavior in the classroom. It is called Class Dojo. Each student is assigned a little character and can earn or lose points depending on their behavior in the classroom. The entire class can also earn or lose points. Some things that Ms. Binks will be looking for is: listening on the carpet, staying on task, treating others kindly, helping clean up, finishing work and lining up quietly. This afternoon she sent some sheets home with us that have codes on them. Students and parents can use the codes to login to dojo to see how many points they have as well as to customize their character. This may be a good way to keep track of how you are doing with your behavior.

Reminders:
- Spelling test has been moved to Tuesday. The blog did not post the spelling words originally so they did not get posted until this morning. You now have an extra day to study!
- Please make sure you return your orange form about volunteering. We are hoping that we get enough volunteers to go on the field trip!
- Jump rope for heart envelopes are due Friday

Spelling Words for the Week

Green Ninja Cats:

1) mean
2) old
3) any
4) same
5) corn
6) blue
7) true
8) clue
9) glue
10) due
11) argue
12) song
13) wrong
14) long
15) visit
16) Peru

Make sure you practice your word families for bonus words!

Blue Berry Bananas:

1) across
2) today
3) tomorrow
4) during
5) after
6) before
7) simile
8) compare
9) however
10) proposal
11) bridal
12) dental
13) gerbil
14) nasal
15) postal
16) Peru
17) population
18) civilization
19) multiplication
20) division

Pink Fluffy Bunnies:

1) laughter
2) giggling
3) whispers
4) murmur
5) wailing
6) tolerating
7) radiating
8) replacing
9) forbidding
10) inquiry
11) scientific
12) visual
13) observe
14) weight
15) adjacent
16) connection
17) symbol
18) represent
19) obvious
20) interpret


Thursday, 9 March 2017

Curry Tomorrow

In science this week, we have been continuing our exploration into different structures and what makes them strong or weak. We created our own construction company, which we named 23 You and Me, with the slogan "We can help you". Our company has been getting customers who have hired us to test out different building and construction scenarios. Our first customer needed to place a giant steel hamburger on a sign for their fast food restaurant client so they hired us to test which shape of sign they should use as a base: square or arch. After testing both shapes, we discovered that arches were stronger and could hold more weight. Our next client has hired us to test different types of beams for bridges to see which they should use in the construction of a foot bridge. Today we tested an accordion fold beam. It seemed pretty strong. We will be testing the other beams tomorrow.

In math we have learned the "up and over" strategy for multiplying double digit by single digit numbers. You first stack the numbers and then multiply going up and then across. It can get tricky when you have to carry over.
Ask me to show you how to work through the question 23 x 4 and 47 x 5

There was an important notice sent home today about how we are looking for volunteers for an upcoming field trip. Please fill out and return this form no later than Wednesday.

New spelling words have been posted. We will be having our spelling test on Monday.

Reminders:
- Curry is tomorrow. Please remember to return your permission form
- Book orders are due tomorrow
- Lip sync forms are due tomorrow
- Spelling test is on Monday
- Volunteer forms due Wednesday

Monday, 6 March 2017

Multiplication Tables

This morning we began to work on a project around our building unit in science. Using different non-fiction books, we found famous buildings that were interesting to us. Each of us started to work on detailed sketches of the building and wrote down at least 3 interesting facts about our building. We will be using sketches and the facts to create borders on our bulletin board outside the classroom. Ask me what building I chose.

In math we learned about another strategy to use in multiplication called a multiplication table. This is a table with numbers running along the top and side. The numbers down the side would be the first number in your multiplication question and the number up top would be the second number in your multiplication question. The answer to your question would be the box where these two numbers meet. Using the multiplication table below, ask me to show you how to find the answer to the following questions:
a) 7 x 8
b) 3x 11
c) 12 x 9


In science this afternoon we wrote down a procedure for an experiment. A procedure is the steps everyone must follow to make sure it is a fair test. We followed the procedure to test out how strong an arch shape was. We needed to fold an index card into an arch, secure it to a desk using plasticine, put a container on top of the arch and then add a block at a time into the container and record observations. Once the arch started to sink or change shape drastically, we stopped. Tomorrow we will follow the same procedure only use a square shape.

There was a notice sent home today about a special activity on Friday. Students are going to be able to try Indian curry. Please make sure that the permission form is signed and returned to Ms. Binks before Friday. If you have any questions please email Ms. Binks

Reminders:
- Book orders were sent home today. They are due back by Friday
- Curry forms are due back by Friday
- Lip sync club forms were sent home with those students who are interested

Friday, 3 March 2017

Testable Questions

This morning we continued our work around similes. We were given simile starters and had to decide how to correctly finish the simile by choosing an animal, object or thing. We then took a test on the Smartboard to see if we were simile masters. Most of us were! Next week we will be incorporating similes into our writing.

In math today we practiced our multiplication facts for 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. Ms. Binks gave us 10 minutes to try and complete multiplication questions for 6-8 and then 10 more minutes for 9-11. We will having two more timed practices next week only with less time. Try practicing these facts over the weekend! Remember the special rules and tricks, especially for 9, 10 and 11.

This afternoon we talked about testable questions in science. Testable questions are questions that you can answer by performing a test or experiment. Testable questions often start with the words do, does and will. To help with our understanding we created a few testable questions using popsicle sticks. Some questions we came up with were:
- Will 2 popsicle sticks hold the weight of a textbook?
- Do popsicle sticks break if there is too much weight put on them?
- Does the amount of popsicle sticks in a tower change how much weight it can hold?

We also learned another science word: hypothesis.
A hypothesis is you best guess about what will happen and an explanation as to why you think that will happen.

We will be using these 2 new science words a lot in our upcoming unit about testing materials and building. Ms. Binks told us that if we were builders in real life, we might get different scenarios where we would have to test out ideas and use a variety of materials before going ahead with building. In this unit, we will have many different scenarios to test out. On Monday, we will be testing how strong arches and square shapes are.

Today was the last day of skipping in phys ed. You can still collect donations for jump rope for heart up until March 17.

Wednesday, 1 March 2017

Presentation from the Calgary Fire Department

This morning we had special guests come to our school! They were from the Calgary Fire Department. They gave a presentation to students in grades 3, 4, 5 and 6 about fire safety. They started off by showing us a clip from a movie featuring firefighters. Then, Officer Paul came into the gym in his full fire fighting gear. He explained all of the differences between tv/movies and reality. We were shown all different examples of how to stay safe. Here are some of the things we remembered from the presentation:
  • Make sure that you have batteries in your smoke detector
  • Keep your door closed when you sleep because it helps keep smoke out of your room
  • Always have 2 ways to get out of your bedroom, either your bedroom or your window
  • You should NEVER put water on a fire that is started with oil.
  • Unplug a microwave
  • Put a lid on a pot to put out a fire
  • Close the oven if there is a fire
  • Don’t ever go back for something if you leave your house. The firefighters can help you find it after
  • Always have a home escape plan
  • Firefighters are really cool and you shouldn’t hide from them
  • You should never play with matches or lighters
  • Always have a meeting spot that is away from your house
  • When you are cooking always stay by the pot or pan you are cooking with
  • Make sure that your stove and toaster do not have combustibles near them
  • Arsonist is a person who sets a fire on purpose
  • Don’t leave a pot handle sticking out
  • People can get hurt or even die in fires because fires are very dangerous
  • If you breathe in smoke, it can burn your lungs
  • Always keep matches and lighters out of reach
  • Always turn off the stove if you are leaving
If your house catches on fire, you need to remember these 3 rules:
1) Get out
2) Stay out
3) Call 911

For homework we were asked to create our own safety plan of our house. If you bring your homework tomorrow, you will get a prize. Here are some examples:



In science today, we learned about a fair test. Ms. Binks gave us all pencils and a sheet of paper. We then had 1 minute to write down as many items as we could from an 18 item list. Some of us had been given unsharpened pencils, dull pencils, or sharp pencils. After the minute was up, we discussed about how many items we could write down and whether it was a fair or unfair test. We decided it was very unfair! We learned that fair tests are important in science because if we change too many items it can effect our results. We learned about control factors which are materials or parts of the procedure that stay the same. We also learned about a variable which is the one item that will be changed to test an idea. We related these new words to our test today, and to our spaghetti towers. We will begin to build and test different materials and structures in the upcoming weeks during science using fair testing.

We continued our work around smilies by listening to a book called crazy like a fox. In the book we heard some repeated similes or cliches. We also heard new and original similes. We then had to create cliche and original similes on our own. Ask me what similes I could make from these starters:
- As cold as....
- Grumpy like a....
- As dark as....
- Warm like....

Reminders:
- Jump rope for heart envelopes are due back March 17
- Pillars of Care assembly March 17
- Early dismissal March 17